A reader discussion around an illustrated online book on Hewlett-Packard equipment turned nostalgic, recalling HP’s legacy of robust scientific and engineering devices. Commenters highlighted the HP85a computer—with magnetic tape, thermal printer, 32K RAM, excellent manuals and keyboard—and an early HP RPN calculator used to port a FORTRAN program from a mainframe. They also traded anecdotes about HP calculators’ programmability and legendary durability, including the apocryphal tale of an HP-12c surviving a hippo’s digestive tract.